Eli hanson



3 Sheets Sheet 1 (No Model.)

E. HANSON.

MAGHINE FOR BENDING WIRE.

Patented Jan. 29, 1889.

N. PETERS, mo-uuw n imr. wam'mgton. DJ.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. HANSON.

MACHINE FOR BENDING WIRE.

No. 396,930. I Patented Jan. 29, 1889.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheena,

' E. HANSON.

If MACHINE FOR BENDING WIRE.

No. 396,930 Patented Jan. 29, 1889.

i i 7 f? f lilivirnn STATES PATENT @rmcm ELI HANSON, OF NEIV YORK, N.Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SELF RETAINING IIAIR PIN COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR BENDHNG WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,930, dated January29, 1889.

Serial No. 276,723- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELI HANSON, of New York, in the county of New Yorkand State of New York, have invented new Improvements in Machines forBending IV ire and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,an d. which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a top view of an apparatus for bending hair-pins, showing theformer in transverse section, the parts in the position of having justreceived a blank wire preparatory to bending; Fig. 2, the same after thebenders have advanced to double the wire upon the former; Fig. 3, thesame, showing the benders as closed upon the former. Fig. 4: illustratesthe former as arranged for vertical reciprocating movement; Fig. 5, aside view of the former, showing the projection for giving thesupplemental bend to the wire. Fig. (3 represents the wire after theprincipal bend, by which a portion of the bend is left fiat; Fig. 7, thesame wire after the supplemental bend; Fig. 8, a modification in thesupplemental benders; Figs. 9 and 10, different applications of theinvention.

This invention relates to an improvement in machines for making articlesfrom wire, in which the wire is bent into the requisite shape.

It is well known in. the manufacture of articles from wire that after abend has been made in the wire the natural elasticity of the wire causesit to react after bending, so that if, for illustration, the wire bebent upon a curve of a certain radius the reaction of the wire willprevent it from retaining the curve thus given to it, and will cause thewire to expand, so that the curve of the wire delivered from themachine, after the bending, will be of a radius greater than that of thecurve upon which it was bent. Consequently it is necessary, where agiven curve is required in wire, to first bend the wire upon a curve ofa radius less than the required radius to allow for the reaction of thewire after bending. I have discovered that if, in bending such a curve,a small porby an independent stroke, as it were, into the proper curve,the'reaction of the wire will be prevented; or, in other words, if thereaction be permitted after the bending operation, and a stroke or blowbe then applied to this straight portion to bend it outward into theproper curve, it will draw the expanded por-. tions each side this bendtoward each other, so as to bring them. to the required curve that is,the curve of the former upon which they are bent; and I have alsodiscovered that this supplemental bending may be effected while the wireis yet on the former, and in substantially a continuous operation.

The object of my invention is the construction of a machine in whichthis supplemental bending may be performed in direct connection with theprincipal or preliminary bending; and my invention consists in thecombination of a former, bending devices adapted to bend the wire aroundthe former, and a mechanism arranged to operate from the inside of theformer outward, which will impart to the wire a supplemental outwardbend after it has been closed by the former in the preliminary orprincipal bend, as more fully hereinafter described.

For convenience in describing my invention, I first illustrate it asapplied to the manufacture of hair-pins.

A represents a former, the surface of which is of a shape correspondingto the inside of the pin to be bent, the pin being a common U-shapedpin. The head edge of the former is rounded, corresponding to the curverequired for the head end of the pin, and at one point of that curvethecenter, for illustration-a flat portion, a, is formed, as if, after thecurve had been fully formed, a slight portion of the curved surface hadbeen removed or recessed to make that portion flat.

I 13 represent benders arranged to be moved in a plane at right anglesto the axis of the former. Such benders are best hung to a slide, 0, soas to receive a reciprocating movement therefrom. YVhile the benders arein an open condition, being so held open by a spring, I), the wire ispassed across the rounded or head edge of the former and between thatedge and the ends of the benders, as represented in Fig. 1.

A finger, I), is arranged to grasp the blank wire against the flatsurface a before the bending commences. This device is common in suchbending apparatus, to hold the blank after it is cut or delivered andbefore the benders come into contact with the wire. The benders thenadvance, as seen in Fig. 2, and then side pressers, E, are advancedagainst the benders and give them a lateral movement toward each otherto bring the bent wire close upon the surface of the former, as seen inFig. 3. Then the benders are withdrawn and the bent pin will drop fromthe machine.

As the benders move away from the former, the natural elasticity of thewire will cause the legs to spring apart, so that the pin will assumesubstantiallya V shape, substantially such as seen in Fig. 2,the legs ofthe pin diverging to a very considerable extent, while, as represented,the sides of the former are parallel. If it is desirable to make thelegs parallel, or more nearly so, it has hitherto been necessary toconstruct the sides of the former correspondingly converging, so thatafter bending the reaction of the wire will bring the legs into therequired shape.

In carrying out my improvement in the manufacture of hair-pins I havefound a very satisfactory result in making the. former A verticallymovable, as illustrated in Fig. 4., the former being arranged invertical guides, so as to move up and down or in a plane at right anglesto the plane of the benders, so that the former may be drawn up frombetween the benders while the pin is held by the jaws. Upon the lowerface of the former, at points where the flattened surface a is formed, 1pro vide a projection, d, which may be made as a part of the former, theouter surface of which inclines rearward from the rounded surface of theformer to substantially the extent of the flattened portion, as seen inFig. 5. As the former rises, this inclined surface of the projection (Zacts upon the flat portion of the wire and gives to it an outward bend,as, for illustration, from the shape seen in Fig. 6, which representsthe bent wire with the flattened portion to that seen. in Figu'7, whichrepresents the ii at portion thrown out into the same curve. In suchbending the finger l) rctreats or yields, corresponding to the inclined.surface of the said projection (Z.

The supplemental or final bond has the effect to draw the legs or sidestogether, and in the operation described the bending is sufficient toretain the legs in the proper position, and prevent the spread under thereactive force due to the elasticity of the wire.

In the apparatus I have thus far described the supplemental bend isproduced by a rubbing action upon the wire; but it maybe produced by adirect pressur:, as seen in Fig. 8, in which a supplemental bender isarranged to normally stand with its nose 6 in a recess upon the underface of the former A, and at the head end. After the bending, as beforedescribed, the nose 8 is forced outward, as represented in broken lines,Fig. 8, to produce the outward bend. This action is substantially thatof a blow or pressure, and is a sufficient modifi cation to enable thoseskilled in the art to apply the invention in various ways, and thisillustration of the curve of a hair-pin is sufficient to enable thoseskilled in the art to apply the invention to the bending of variousarticles of a curved form. This auxiliary bend is not to be understoodas applicable to a curve only. For illustration, the article bent may bedesired to present angles, as seen in Fig. 9, in which case the naturalexpansion of the sides after bending would be, for illustration, to theposition indicated in broken lines, Fig. 9, while the required positionis that of solid lines. In this case the outward or supplemental bendwould be produced upon the closed end between the angles, as at f. Insuch case the better plan would be to give to that closed end an inwardbend, as represented in Fig. 9, so that the supplemental bend willstraighten that side, as indicated in broken lines, the bend in thatfigure being exaggerated for convenience of illustration. Thissupplemental bend will produce the same effect in this case as in thatfirst mentioned. So, in bending a ring required to be complete, as inFig. 10, the elasticity of the wire would naturally cause the ring tospread, say, as indicated in broken lines in that figure. In this caseaportion of the wire is left straight, and then the supplemental bend ismade at that point to bring the straight portion into the requiredcurve, which will cause the wire from the point or supplemental bend tobe drawn inward and brought to the complete ring shape, as indicated inFig. 10.

From the foregoing it will be understood that I do not wish to belimited to any specific bending device or to the manufacture of anyspecific article.

In illustrating a machine embodying my invention I have shown only theoperative parts, omitting the mechanism' by which movement may beimparted to the said parts. Such apparatus, being common and well knownin wire-bending machinery, does not require illustration. or descriptionto enable those skilled in the art to apply the invention.

I claim In an apparatus'for making articles from wire, in which the wireis bent to shape, the combination of a former, corresponding in shape tothe shape required for the bent wire except that a portion of thesurface of the former is recessed to permit an extra inward Ward bend anoutward bend into the required bend of the Wire, and an auxiliary bendershape. arranged to operate Within the bend so made 7 T by the principalbender and at the point ELI HALSON' 5 Where the said recess in theformer occurs, Witnesses:

substantially as described, said supplemental CHARLES A. DESHON,

bender being adapted to give to the said in- JAMES F. DOYLE.

